Despite the pressure from the No. 1 Kelso Electrical MPC Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, the second weekend of GT World Challenge Australia in 2026 went entirely to Tigani Motorsport, with the No. 44 Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo of Brendon Leitch and Sergio Pires winning on Saturday, while the Sunday was conquered by the No. 66 Mercedes of Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti.
The No. 44 Tigani Mercedes led the way in the first moments of Race 1, with enough speed to avoid any attacks from the No. 1 Kelso MPC Audi, while the No. 56 Tigani Mercedes was penalized with a drive through due to a starting infringement, which handed the third place to the No. 268 Team BRM Audi.
It was clear that Brad Schumacher was set on challenging Sergio Pires for the lead, but it became clearer that the pace to attack wasn’t coming, and going harder at every corner eventually paid the price as the No. 1 went off and dropped to fourth, with the No. 268 jumping to second and the No. 26 ARGT Ferrari being third.
The pit window didn’t affect the order on track, and while Thomas Randle tried to reach Brendon Leitch, the gap wasn’t going down as the tires were more worn out. In the end, the maximum that the No. 268 Team BRM Audi got was to stay just shy of 2 seconds, being unable to avoid the victory for the No. 44 Tigani Mercedes. The No. 24 KFC MC Audi had total control of the Trophy class.
GTWC Australia - The Bend Race 1 results
A full Tigani front row led the way in the second race, with the No. 66 Mercedes going ahead while the No. 44 Mercedes was on the defensive, and with the No. 44 being busy keeping the No. 1 Kelso MPC Audi away, the No. 66 had room to push and stretch the gap.
Broc Feeney was unable to fend off Brendon Leitch during his stint, let alone reach Jayden Ojeda. With the pit window and competition time left behind, the lead battle had only the No. 66 versus the No. 1, now with Paul Lucchitti and Brad Schumacher. As time passed, Schumacher got closer and closer to Lucchitti, and while he had time to spare, the fast nature of the track wasn’t allowing Schumacher to find any gaps into Lucchitti’s line.
In the end, being close didn’t mean being able to overtake, so Brad Schumacher had to watch Paul Lucchitti bringing the No. 66 Tigani Mercedes capturing the overall and Pro-Am Cup wins, while the No. 24 KFC MPC Audi completed the weekend class sweep in the Trophy class.
GTWC Australia - The Bend Race 2 results
The next stop for the series is Queensland, as the visit to The Paperclip will be on 13 and 14 June.
PHOTOS: SRO
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